Vinay Balraj is a mechanical engineer by profession and is currently pursuing his masters. He, like most open source programmers, is a hobbyist software developer and is well versed in the areas of Windows, Android, UNIX, Linux, Mac, and some other operating systems. He is also well known for his ability as an advanced cross-platform user and developer, contributing in many areas for improvements on computer software.

He balances life as a graduate student and as a software developer and also guides three batches of engineering students in their final year research.

Vinay started his career as a software developer, as a hobby, and now seeks other enthusiasts just like him who wouldn't mind spending time to make things better and learn more.

Abhilash Hebbar is a young and aspiring software professional with a passion for open source technologies. He got attracted to the world of open source and Linux by the various campus events held at his college, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering. During his college days, he worked on creating a Linux distribution, which was not a success. This gave him a great exposure to the ins and outs of Linux and open source technologies.

He has worked on building cloud applications and APIs on top of open source stacks, such as Node.js, Python, Java, Ruby on Rails, and so on. He is currently working as Head of Engineering in Openly. The company provides consultation and software development services on cloud applications.

Scott Newlon is an enthusiastic ambassador of technology and an avid autodidact. He has built his own computers, way back when computers comprised of giant monitors and floppy disks. Technology was his hobby for years when he was working as a furniture delivery driver and freight logistics manager. This hobby later turned to passion and led him to pursue a degree in Computer Science and a new career in IT when he was in his late 30s.

Scott started working as a university technical support specialist. He helped others adopt newer technology by embarking on several support projects for non-profit organizations, including PACES, a conductive education facility for differently abled youth in Sheffield, England, where he helped them establish their first online resources for their clients' families. Scott went on from the support realm to network and project management for a large national corporation in Montana.

In 2007, Scott began using LINUX. He finds LINUX empowering and educational because of its universal accessibility in terms of usage and available information. He began with Fedora, openSUSE, and Ubuntu and landed on Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) as his distro of choice when it was released in 2009. Another aspect of LINUX that has resonated for Scott was the user community through which he educated himself, including mintCast, a podcast by the Linux Mint community for all users of Linux, covering general Linux news and events and the open source space.

When the hosts put a call out for replacements, three years ago, Scott jumped in and along with his co-host, Rob Hawkins, has been a force in honing and developing the podcast, which was named as one of the top five Linux podcasts by the Linux Format magazine.

Scott now lives with his wife in Durham, NC, and works as an IT project manager for a large data management firm in the healthcare industry. Linux Mint Essentials is his first book.

Michael D. Prothero retired after serving 21 years in the US military to join the honorable ranks of teachers and still continues to serve his nation. His love for learning has aided him in obtaining an MS degree in Information Systems, a BS degree in Education and Computer Science, and an AS degree in Electronics. His love for sharing what he has learned has earned him the respect of his family, students, colleagues, and employers.

Michael is serving as an IT Instructor for ECPI University in Charlotte, NC. He conducts various courses on computer security and network infrastructure, as well as programming and operating systems.

This was the first book that he has worked on; however, he is eager to continue.